SimCity on the BBC Micro - First Impressions

[icemansquared]

I was about to question your city designs.

[camomc1]

the acorn archimedes version is really good its pretty much the same as the amiga version but unfortunately its rare as hens teeth, even in the uk you cant even pick it up on ebay.

[alchemik666]

This video was loading really bad for some reason... But, it gave me excuse to spend 12 mins playing the youtube Snake. xP

[DirtyKameSennin]

I don't like this version.. and anyway it's Simcity on Mars!

[zionravescene]

The Beeb version was the first version of SimCity I owned. It was my favourite game for several years.

[HalfLife4Life]

Haha, I have the exact same screen you have at the start of the vid. Acer X193w?

[phreakindee]

@HalfLife4Life Close, mine's the X223w

[platyproductions]

you do notice you are placing train tracks at 6:20

[ZoeMofo]

The monster is hillarious!

[pulseforce]

Fantastic review! The map does differ between game session, but retains an overall shape that is supposed to look like the British Isles (which is also the icon for bringing up the map). If you compare 8:23 to 16:03 you will see the difference.

[andyukmonkey]

I have the Amstrad cpc version of Simcity. I thought that was a quite impressive conversion squeezing it into 64k but putting it into 32k on the BBC. Wow.

Oh btw that little map icon is a mini British isles.

[Monstoday]

As the Beeb was (and still is) my favourite computer of all time, I love watching related videos like this. One question for ya though! - What did you use to hook your Beeb up to a TFT screen? My Beeb is still working with one of those Microvitec Cub monitors (ancient!) and I am wary that it'll go pop in one of these coming years. Therefore I need a contingency plan :-)

[phreakindee]

@Monstoday I actually have it hooked in to a USB video capture device, which is then hooked into my Windows PC. It's currently the only display I have for the Beeb, and although it's not the clearest of pictures it certainly works!

[Monstoday]

@phreakindee Brilliant, thanks for explaining! I have watched VHS videos before by using a SCART-to-USB which I then view on the PC, so I guess it's a similar principle with the Beeb.

[nybiker1]

How do you save your city to disk or you can't save:(

[phreakindee]

@nybiker1 You have the option to save to disk from the game menu.

[zionravescene]

This takes me back.

[wabba67]

The monster is pretty awesome :D

[TempAvailableGaming]

god damn it keeps loading 20 seconds of the video!!! ah well, it better work tomorrow

[janmansde3dede]

I personally find the SNES port disgusting, did Nintendo REALLY had to slap all kinds of Mario/SNES characters and logos in ?! (the snes printer, bowser, the mario statue.....), like it was owned by them,I've wouldn't found it much of a deal if it been made by maxis but it isn't, and the manga/anime style is (personally again) a very bad choice.

But on another subject ! if you're crazy there is a Amiga 500 CD reader on ebay,

Buy that and wait for the CDTV version of sim city to appear :P

[OneEyedJack1970]

TROGDOR!

[ObamaGoesPostal]

your awesome man, kinda your like avgn only less angry and your kinda the pc-guy while he is the console-guy

[phreakindee]

@ObamaGoesPostal Heh, so I suppose that makes us nothing alike except that we both make gaming-related videos. Ah well, thanks though, glad you're enjoying!

[farcher3]

@phreakindee Have you reviewed the BBC computer? if not can you do it one day?

[phreakindee]

@farcher3 You know you can just type in a simple search on my channel or look in my "Hardware Reviews" playlist... but no, I have not yet made a BBC Micro review.

[farcher3]

@phreakindee I've searched your playlist. Its awesome but I wanted to make sure that you hadn't pulled a BBC computer vid you'd made down for space or something. I was surprised that you would do a vid about a game for the BBC and not a vid for the BBC itself 'cause that computer in working condition is a good get and I thought you make an awesome vid about it first. But that's cool I'll wait. Your vids are sooooo awesome and you're a great guide to computer history!!!!!!

[phreakindee]

@farcher3 It's cool. I plan on doing the BBC Micro review sometime over this summer!

[kargaroc386]

question:... why is there an option for nuclear when this is supposed to be 1900?

[phreakindee]

@kargaroc386 That's the question I was asking repeatedly in the video. I assume they either didn't have the ability to include time-specific inventions or just forgot.

[josmasterofvideos]

Looks like a really fun game to play!

[cheeseb777]

The map is a map of the UK

[Chromeize]

Your keyboard rocks!

[phreakindee]

@Chromeize Thanks. Although I'm not sure what you mean, since I didn't show my keyboard in this video... unless you mean the BBC Micro computer on my desk?

[Chromeize]

@phreakindee Thats what i ment, i forgot that it was for the BBC Micro not everyday use

[VTS1337]

Windows 7 with 5 1/4 inch support?! I thought support was ended at XP or something. I'm actually surprised that Win7 supports 31/2 inch too!

[phreakindee]

@VTS1337 Yup, as long as your motherboard and BIOS support your floppy drive, Win7 is just fine with it and even command line programs can access it.

[VTS1337]

@phreakindee Cool! I had a 5 1/4 inch disk once with SAGE on, never used it but it was a classic. I didn't have a drive anyway.

Oh, by the way: a random question, will you ever overview any of LookingGlass's games, because you did one on Maxis, which has sort of disbanded, and LG did disbanded in 2000.

Great video, since I am from the UK and didn't know as much as this about the BBC!

[phreakindee]

@VTS1337 I'd love to take do a restrospective/history/collect­ion vid on Looking Glass, Apogee, Epic Megagames, Accolade and many others. But Maxis is the only "complete" collection I have at the moment!

[VTS1337]

@phreakindee OK cheers, just asking ;)

[scruffy688]

@VTS1337 I'm in luck then, my grandparents found some 5 1/4 inch floppys and gave them to me, and I was afraid that I was going to have to get an IBM PC

[VTS1337]

@scruffy688 Nah, you don't, just need a drive and and a compatible motherboard/bios as phreakindee said.

[mommydaddy999]

Im just wondering if you have wife and kids phreak i mean your son would be lucky to have a father who are into computers and collections of technology :)

[phreakindee]

@mommydaddy999 Heh, no wife or kids here.

[ElielChen762]

Old games' generation has respected.

[atombat]

For one moment I thought you'd named your City FARTCANDY....? :D

[phreakindee]

@atombat Ha, I'm pretty sure I remember a novelty candy with that name back in the mid-90's...

[KrazyKupo]

Wow I can recreate my home town of Bognor Regis on this, it would be pretty accurate looking.

Looking forwards to the Sims Medieval review as I'm on the fence about that game.

[RetroGamerVX]

Sim city for the Beeb?? <<<wetting myself with excitement :o)

Yes, try flicking the track switch, it should work then :o)

Ooh, I have the turbo mmc, I shall try it soon :o)

Lol, that 'map' was a picture of the British Isles lol

[phreakindee]

@RetroGamerVX Haha, who knew the British Isles looked so much like a monster shooting fireballs from its mouth? At least, to this American's untrained eye...

[RetroGamerVX]

@phreakindee Yep, I'm so well trained, I could spot it on my screen lol :o)

[phreakindee]

@Bakemon13 Very cool indeed! Especially when you got both 5.25" and 3.5" versions (or low- and high-density versions) of the game in the same box.

[Ownederd13]

I'm digging your 5.25 drive, mixed in with the Antec 300.

[phreakindee]

@Ownederd13 Thank you. It's a very useful mix, actually, allowing to create disks for many of my DOS machines directly from disk images on my hard drive. Windows 7 having 5.25" floppy support is freaking awesome.

[madmax2069]

OMG you have the same computer tower that i do, and a white drive in the same place as my drive (also white).

[Standard420247]

Are you dead?

[vwestlife]

Gotta love those error messages: Mistake! Bad program! ERROR!

[endofthelinejoel]

phreekin' awesome! 8-bit roolz.

Amazing that someone coded this great strategy game into 32K.

[MN12BIRD]

LOL love the LCD monitor on top of the BBC Micro. Pretty cool to just see this game on such a machine with only 32k but I still prefer the DOS version. Well it's what I grew up with!  I never really liked any of the other Sim City/Sim games but I always loved the original DOS version. I think I like the simplicity compared to 2k witch I also had on DOS/Windows but never liked. Sure it had high res but I hated the angles, power lines, water pipes...

[kinmanyuen]

cool spiffy bbc box made to last forever

[joman66]

Love your shirt, RIP MSDOS

[Danny77uk]

I love your voice!

[R33Racer]

There was indeed an Acorn Archie version. :)

Sadly it's pretty rare.

[rhydermike]

@R33Racer Yeah, I remember seeing it at a computer show in London. One of the devs was going on about how realistic it was, and my friend and I were laughing because the monster was on the rampage.

[hackett152332]

Hi mate, would like to suggest a few game reviews like Rise of the Triad, Blake Stone and also Skool Daze for the Spectrum...they did a remake of Skool Daze called ''Klass of 99'' which is brilliant!

[8BitPicklez]

Is the map icon supose the resemble the UK? XD

[phreakindee]

@UKRetroGames Ah, got confused since the floppy disk is labeled as having a Side A and Side B (40 track and 80 track sides). I'll have to give it another go knowing this!

That TurboMMC has certainly been useful many, many times now!

[Doom2Guy]

Cool to see a person in the US with interest in computers from Europe!

[andruha11234]

did people really play this? it look incredibly boring lol..but then again i grew up with SEGA!

[Doom2Guy]

@andruha11234 Computers like these came out a bit before the NES, so of course there's a bit difference.

[8BitPicklez]

@andruha11234 Hehe, I Love SEGA and Nintendo as much as most the kids growing up in the 80's, but with nothing home computing just getting popular I must say these games were the awesome! Sim City looks boring but it grabs you in like an adictive MMORPG game. :3

[andruha11234]

@8BitPicklez I don't know about the 80s (i was born in 1990)... but I played my SEGA mega drive until 2005 or so... best console ever!

[HarryMatic]

I might go and get out my BBC Master right now.

[Drakortha]

Hey phreakindee what do you think about the Sim City clone called City Life Deluxe?

[phreakindee]

@Drakortha Well, for starters I wouldn't call it a SimCity clone. Felt a bit more like the Caesar games than SC. It's more of an experiment in social integration simulation mixed in with urban urban theory and planning. Not really my cup of tea, but an interesting title nonetheless. The sequels, the Cities XL games, are also quite interesting with beautiful graphics, but I never got into them to any true extent. I really wanted to though and I'll try again someday!

[Raggikomm]

Hey, what is your favorite SimCity evar ?

[phreakindee]

@Raggikomm Evar evar? That would be SimCity 2000 Special Edition for Windows. Favorite SimCity original would be SimCity Classic / Deluxe for Win/Mac.

[MaGuss0909]

Bad program is Bad lol

[charles9655]

Review sim city for c64

[phreakindee]

@charles9655 As I mentioned in the video, I will be reviewing SimCity and its other versions in a full-length special at some point. C64 included :)

[tudythegangster]

I didn't even know games could be on cassettes until I saw your vids :P Still seems a bit sci-fi...

[shaurz]

@tudythegangster Popular in Britain at the time since floppy disks were too expensive. It's very low-tech though, it's like downloading from a 300 baud modem.

[mspeter97]

@tudythegangster in fact in the early 80s most of the computer used cassettes

[DylanMayhew]

I dont like the color red for grass very much know its a hardware limitation with what ever color pallet it has to use, but still, would be nice if that was at least green. or are you suppose to be a super advance marson civilization that just discovered nuclear power and do to there constant monster attacks and devastating earth quakes it killed them off?

[phreakindee]

@DylanMayhew Yeah, I made a similar observation after I cut off the camera... perhaps this is more SimMars than SimCity.

[Zontar82]

where i can find that shirt??!

[phreakindee]

@Zontar82 Got mine on eBay, it was only a few bucks.

[n4ndude]

From 13:45 Ocv Dcv wtf? I dunno those months.

[dosnostalgic]

Interesting! (Now that's a fucking t-shirt! I need one like that).

[shorty1k]

You Asuck! You should review the snes version of Simcity 2000 when you get it.

[ValugaTheLord]

all hail citizens of Fartvcnddd!!!

[grinick]

click 8:28 for the monster

[ezelite]

My micro arrives in the next day or two..cant wait :D

[evilmiera]

So I guess you're alive! Maybe.

[LLWut]

wat keyboard are u using?

[phreakindee]

@LLWut The BBC Micro's?

[csanderson7850]

my favourite port is the super nintendo version with the cool unique features (mario statue, bowser etc.) doughnut city design strategy FTW.

[mistamontiel]

16:45

Y0U A SUCK IT'S A ME A MARIA L0L

[thatguyontheright1]

You gonna show the speccy version?

[phreakindee]

@thatguyontheright1 Eventually. If not on its own then in the SimCity review.

[Penya666]

New video! \o/

[NIMHFS]

You're shirt reminds of a teacher I had in junior high, Her name was Ms. Dos.

[NIMHFS]

@NIMHFS "You're"

grammar ftw.

[ExtantWill]

Ah, beautiful FARTCYcftddd, how I missed your... red brown decaying hillside... and golden paved roads.

[phreakindee]

@ExtantWill Just wanted to promote your most excellent comment.

[Feenicks01]

Keep the beard, it really suits you!

[phreakindee]

@Feenicks01 Thanks! It hasn't left my face for 8 years now so it's around for the foreseeable future.

[DirtyKameSennin]

I don't like the sim city home computer ports (and I'm not really into sim games at all) but this one looks really awkward to control, I wouldn't have the patience

[SteveBenway]

That was great. I'm gonna have to play this. I was gobsmacked to find they made Sim City for 8 bit systems.

It looks clunky, but I think back in the day I'd have played this to hell.

Loving your text description :D

[phreakindee]

@SteveBenway Hehe, good. Don't sue ;)

[Tainted107]

amazing video as always, has anyone ever told you that the way you review is kinda like ashen?

[phreakindee]

@Tainted107 Quite often. Still never heard/seen/whatevered the guy though!

[ASSEMblerEX]

Shit is glacial

[bassist4msc]

Great, as always, man.

[Lacider]

love the shirt :D

[AcoustikGeeMusic]

hi